Futures
The future of organized real estate is complicated.
It was this recognition that led in 2011 to the launching of CREA's Futures Initiative, the most comprehensive consultation and planning exercise the association has ever undertaken. Over the past two years, through special sessions, outreach activities and online consultation methods, the Futures Initiative has directly engaged thousands of REALTORS® across the country.
Based on extensive research and analysis, four plausible scenarios were
developed for the future of organized real estate in Canada and the role that
REALTORS® could play in each one.
The objective of the exercise was to consider which of the scenarios was not only the most likely but also the most favourable for REALTORS® and homeowners, and then to develop a long-term strategic plan that ensured the industry was responding proactively to help create the scenario it most wished to see, and not just reacting to events as they unfolded.
The Futures Initiative was driven by a number of factors. Key among these was the continuing evolution in consumer expectations, especially as data that was once the exclusive purview of REALTORS® continues to become more widely and more freely available. No longer can REALTORS® trade on their access to this data as a key source of their value, In the past, REALTORS® may have traded on their exclusive access to such data, and a big part of the Futures Initiative was looking at how REALTORS® could react and respond to these emerging consumer expectations to deliver a high-value service. This issue touched not only on improving the responsiveness of the technology, tools and services REALTORS® offer in the marketplace but also on the professional standards of REALTORS® and on their ability to gain deeper insight into consumer behaviour. The Futures Initiative considered all of this.
The Futures Initiative also looked at how organized real estate in Canada was structured. It questioned whether it was optimal to have more than 100 real estate boards and associations across the country, each following its own individual strategies and plans without necessarily coordinating with each other in appropriate ways to ensure the most efficient deployment of resources and members' dues, and the highest possible levels of service to REALTORS®.
The outcome of this months-long process was a total of 23 specific recommended actions in six key areas: Consumer insight, technology and data, professional development, member services, operating structure, and governance. All the actions were approved at CREA's Annual General Meeting in March 2012, and are now being considered by the Futures Implementation Team (FIT), which is a group of 13 representatives coordinating the action plan.
New technology products are key to improved customer insight and service
Organized real estate must keep pace with the swiftly evolving technology landscape that both consumers and REALTORS® are already taking advantage of. Certainly, ORE already has a massive investment in technology – millions of dollars each year are spent operating various MLS® Systems, and even more goes to other technology products and services. And yet, the Futures Initiative found that technology spending is fragmented; it lacks an integrated strategy that would ensure not only that the best and latest technologies are adopted but also that they are done so in the most efficient and cost-effective manner possible.
One objective that came out of the Futures Initiative was to make the development of new technology tools a far more streamlined process. A new technology-development approach would be more responsive to member and market needs, could develop innovative products for REALTORS® more swiftly and efficiently, and could introduce such products with optional cost-recovery mechanisms that saw only those REALTORS® who wanted to use the new products pay for them.
"Rate your REALTOR®" to provide intelligence to both consumers and REALTORS®
Pending approval by the CREA AGM in March 2013, a new tool would be rolled out that would give consumers the opportunity to provide direct feedback on their real estate experience. "Rate your REALTOR®" could serve as an intelligence-gathering mechanism for consumer priorities and concerns. While no REALTOR® would be required to participate, those who do would benefit from the greater levels of transparency and trust the tool will engender, as well as from the insight it will provide into both consumer behaviour and REALTOR® best practice.
*The Rate your REALTOR® motion was not supported at the 2013 AGM.
Consumer and REALTOR® panels engaged
A key focus of the Futures Initiative was a recognition that far greater insight was needed into consumer behaviour and satisfaction levels. Similarly, CREA could get greater feedback from REALTORS® themselves in order to better tailor services and tools. Consumer and REALTOR® panels have been created, and have started the process of engagement.